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Premenstrual Distress

Implications for Women’s Working Capacity and Quality of Life

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Women, Work, and Health

Part of the book series: The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping ((SSSO))

Abstract

The premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is characterized by a number of somatic, affective, cognitive, and behavioral disturbances that arise in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle and that are accentuated premenstrually. What is decisive for the diagnosis of PMS is the timing of symptoms: a sudden onset in the luteal phase and disappearance with full menstrual flow. Dalton (1977, 1984) has defined PMS as “the recurrence of symptoms in the premenstrual phase with absence of symptoms in the postmenstruum” (p. 3). The most frequently reported symptoms include irritability, depression, loss of energy, food cravings, loss of sexual interest, bloatedness, and breast tenderness. This chapter includes a brief review of the literature on PMS and a report of the results of a study on psychological characteristics and occupational stress in women who suffer from PMS.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Division, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Karolinska Institute, S-104 01, Stockholm, Sweden

    Aila Collins

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  1. Aila Collins
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, S-106 91, Sweden

    Marianne Frankenhaeuser  & Ulf Lundberg  & 

  2. Prevention Sciences Group, School od Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA

    Margaret Chesney

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© 1991 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Collins, A. (1991). Premenstrual Distress. In: Frankenhaeuser, M., Lundberg, U., Chesney, M. (eds) Women, Work, and Health. The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3712-0_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3712-0_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6651-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3712-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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